Breakdancing Set to Become an Olympic Sport as of 2024

B-Boys & Fly-Girls have more reason to rejoice than usual today with news coming out of Lausanne, Switzerland, where members of the International Olympic Committee endorsed requests from the games’ officials in Paris to provisionally add the popular street pastime to the official program, pending a final decision at the end of 2020.

Breakdancing, or “breaking” as it is known in Olympic circles, is one of four new sports that are being bravely proposed by the Paris organising committee, who have made a concerted effort to take sports out of the stadiums and into the city as a whole. Surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding are also on the table.

Cowabunga.

ESPN reported Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet as saying: “It’s important for us in our concept to put sports out of the stadiums and in the heart of the city.” It is expected that organisers will start the search for a suitable street-based venue now that the IOC has given the tentative thumbs-up. It is also assumed that, if given the go-ahead, that Los Angeles 2028 would be interested in hosting the same event.

The Paris 2024 games look to be spread much farther than the romantic capital of the world, with surfing expected to be held in the south-west town of Biarritz, and sailing already set for Marseille, making them a very broadly French affair.

If the IOC doesn’t officially approve these four new additions to the program next year, it has been widely reported that it would be too late to find suitable replacements. A harsh truth for organisers if such drama comes to pass? Sure. But it’s like that; that’s just the way it is.